Two-level optimization model for water consumption based on water prices in eco-industrial parks

Abstract The eco-industrial park (EIP) is universally acknowledged as an important way to achieve resources sustainability by the plant cooperation. As an essential public resource in an EIP, the water resource is a primary research focus for minimizing the water consumption in EIPs. Commonly, the water price was adopted to adjust the plant water consumption; however, this method was relatively single. In this paper, a two-level optimization method was proposed based on the relationship between the water supplier and industrial plants and the interrelationship among plants in the EIP. Two cases were investigated based on the proposed method, and the results of different water prices and profit allocation ratios were presented in detail. Compared to the traditional method, the two-level optimization could produce more effective guide on industrial plants for applying water-saving and new technologies.